Does it seem like you’re receiving more really targeted scam telephone calls and emails lately? If so, it’s not your imagination and you’re not alone. As we lead more and more connected lives, posting more and more data to social media sites, organizations that we do business with and having our information traded by and […]
Tag: social engineering
Security researcher finds millions of bank loan documents exposed on unprotected server
According to a TechCrunch article, an independent security researcher found a database exposed to the Internet with no password protection containing millions of banking and financial documents including mortgage and tax documents. The article does an excellent job of detailing the findings and the sources but there are a few important things that we can […]
The best place to get started on the red team?
The blue team.
The blue team.
One question that I get a lot, whether it’s from students, current or hopeful IT folks or just curious folks who wonder how one gets into this line of work, is “How do / can I get started hacking?” or “How do / can I get started on the red team?”. I’ve heard tons of […]
Pen tests and baby pictures
I had a conversation a few days ago that highlighted an interesting similarity between offensive security and, oddly enough, baby pictures. The conversation was with a photographer who worked extensively with families (family portraits, baby pictures, etc.). The photographer mentioned that they offer a package for parents to get pictures of their babies at newborn, […]
Some lessons learned from the ransomware attack on the City of Atlanta
On 22 March 2018, the public learned of a ransomware attack in the City of Atlanta information systems. The City of Atlanta held a press conference soon after the news broke and multiple news outlets covered the incident. In this article, I don’t want to re-hash the information already presented but rather highlight a few […]
Cyber Attack on the City of Atlanta – A stark reminder of the need for and importance of ethical hacking
Thursday morning (22 March, 2018), the City of Atlanta’s computer systems fell victim to what’s being called a ‘cyber attack’. According to the information that we’ve seen thus far, the attack is apparently a ransomware attack demanding payment in exchange for the decryption keys to unlock the affected data. According to news articles, local, state […]
New malware currently targeting restaurants. What you need to know before it targets your industry.
According to this article from Threatpost, a new malware nicknamed FIN7 is using a new technique to spread and avoid detection. The malware is reportedly associated with the Carbanak group and is targeting the restaurant industry. Considering it’s effectiveness though, it’s safe to assume that either this attacker will move to other industry verticals or […]
A top-down approach to cyber security will not work, and here’s why
Recent computer / network security breaches combined with the fact that it’s an election year in the US has led to asignificant amount of focus on [information] security and technology and interesting responses from [mostly] politicians on what the appropriate solution should be. One of the solutions that I have heard tossed about in the […]
Seagate employees sue after tax data exposed in phishing attack
Many of you may remember the previous post regarding the phishing attack at Seagate where an employee, responding to a phishing email that claimed to be from the CEO, forwarded the W-2 ‘and other data’ to an attacker. According to this article from the Inquirer, a number of affected employees have now filed a class […]
Social Engineering, what is it and why is it important?
What is Social Engineering? Once again, the Social Engineering Capture The Flag (SECTF) competition at DEF CON was a huge success. Social Engineering (SE) is is basically hacking the human element in an organization, tricking the victim into giving the attacker sensitive information about the target. Attacking the human allows an attacker to bypass the […]